Cinema Alley: Ten Years

“If we can’t even see the storms in our future, how can we talk about hope? How can we find courage to change?”

As part of the exhibition Before the Rain five young Hong Kong directors consider the future of their city. Ten Years (103 minutes, Cantonese drama, with Chinese and English subtitles), was one of the 2015 HKAFF Center-pieces, is a collection of five short stories; a prophecy, and a fable for Hong Kong. Through their films, the directors raise questions about the most central issues concerning our city, and the audience is invited to ponder together:

a Where will our terrorist attacks come from?

【 Extras (浮瓜) Directed by: Kwok Zune (郭臻) 】

b What is left for us to protect, when the awareness to preserve is at its end?

【Season of the End (冬蟬) Directed by: Wong Fei-Pang(黃飛鵬)】

c How does the fading of Cantonese affect the life of the people?

【Dialect (方言) Directed by: Jevons Au (歐文傑)】

d Will there be self-immolators in Hong Kong, ten years from now?

【Self-immolator (自焚者) Directed by: Chow Kwun-Wai (周冠威)】

e What is our next generation meant to learn?

【Local Egg (本地蛋) Directed by: Ng Ka-Leung (伍嘉良)】

All the stories are independent, yet at the same time, intricately related to one another. They are attempts to portray decisions and struggles of humanity in a dark age. Through films, they acknowledge a difficult future, and reflect upon the present.

The screening of Ten Years is complemented by the short film Miles to Go by HK URBEX. HK URBEX is a collective of visual storytellers from Hong Kong that explore the abandoned spaces of the megacity. In Miles to Go they appear in the main streets of the city during the Umbrella Movement of late 2014.